Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of production of a cured pickle product by fermentation. In particular, the present invention is directed to a method of producing a fermentation cured pickle product quickly, without the traditional fermentation length.
Description of Related Art
Fermented pickle products, such as cucumbers and the like, are popular the world over because of the flavor and appearance that distinguishes them from other types of pickle products.
Commercially produced pickles are fermented in a brine solution of about 6% sodium chloride in large open-top tanks as large as 40,000 liters. The salt in this type of fermentation serves more than one function. For one, it is used to prevent freezing of outside tanks in northern climates. However, the most important function is that the sodium chloride brine solution selects for salt tolerant bacteria, such as Lactobacillus plantarm. Salt tolerant bacteria are normally used for fermentations of this type. Salt-tolerant bacteria help maintain the firm texture of the fermented product while the products are stored up to a year in fermentation tanks. It also provides salty flavor in the products made from the fermented fruit. Open tanks have the problem of allowing undesirable microbes and other items to enter the fermentation easily.
Fermentation of fruits, vegetables, and produce reduces sugars in the vegetable and in the brine from about 2% down to less than about 0.1% sugar. In the pickle industry, fermentation of a vegetable is typically considered complete when sugar test strips of the fermentation brine are negative, indicating less than about 0.1% residual sugar remains. Sugar concentration in the fermentation brine equalizes with the sugar concentration in the vegetable, making end of fermentation measurement easy by measuring the sugar in the brine solution. Also, pH of the fermentation brine typically goes down to about 2.9-3.9, also indicating a completed fermentation process. Those in the industry are familiar with methods for testing for fermentation completion.
With traditional fermentation, vegetables can take from about three to four weeks to finish the fermentation process sufficiently for commercial sale. This limits the amount of equipment-produced pickles to several batches per year in optimal conditions. Tank yard operations in the traditional fermenting process involve a large amount of labor and capital, with respect to maintaining the tank yard for these extended processing times. An additional continuing issue for commercial pickle production is the disposal of the salt in a manner that meets current disposal standards, with some local governments severely restricting the amount of salt which can be disposed of. Recycling of the brine from each fermentation batch has shown some benefit in sodium chloride reduction. However, during recycling, the intermingling of brines from different sources, batches, etc., with more diverse microbial content, presents a carryover of “off” or unwanted flavors in the finished product.
Calcium chloride is well known in the pickling process for having an effect when added to the conventional pickling process in that it increases the firmness of the preserved fruit, especially with cucumbers. Calcium chloride is considered more environmentally friendly than sodium chloride, and the disposal of calcium chloride as a waste product is less of an issue. Whole cucumber pickles have been utilized in a process involving only calcium chloride, and the results of this calcium chloride process indicated that a similar result, in terms of fermentation time, can be obtained without use of sodium chloride. Since no time difference was observed between the calcium chloride process and the sodium chloride process, the processes used did nothing to deal with the length of time it takes to ferment pickles and the problems with low equipment use turnover.